Authors Note: I apologize for how long this took to post. Things got really hectic at my end, and to top of that I had a lot of errors that I made in the chapter, which were pointed out by my beta reader. Most of them were stupid errors that I should have been able to spot right away, and was the result of a very rushed chapter, which I should have taken more time to edit before handing it over to my beta.
Once again, I don't own the Claymore franchise in any way, shape, or form, which is quite a shame. I'd like to give special thanks to my Beta reader, Aurora Shadowglen, who went out of their way and took the time to edit one of the most hastily rushed chapters in the history of this site, when it would have been easier just to tell me that they couldn't do it. Your work is very much appreciated, more than I can properly express in words alone. Anyway, enjoy the long overdue second chapter of The Silver Chronicles!
Sistina finally managed to fully heal her arm, and slowly climbed to her feet. She watched as Mina tested the agility of all the other trainees present. As she observed them, one thing became apparently clear to Sistina; Mina was going rather easy on the others. Oh, when one started to do well, she went a little faster on them, but she never went all out on any of them the way she did on Sistina. Mina downed the trainee she was training, and moved onto Xena, who proved to be quite nimble despite her size. About a minute later though, Mina swung her sword down at Xena's left leg, and it connected, causing her to yelp in pain and kneel on the ground. Mina nodded at her in approval.
"That wasn't too bad, although you don't appear to be used to your opponent fighting offensively. I'm guessing that you finish up your fights really quickly with head on assaults, judging by how you move."
Xena nodded, apparently being rather quiet for once. It had become abundantly clear to all the trainees that it was in their best interests to not get on Mina's bad side. Mina held up her sword at arm level and pointed it at the only trainee who had not taken the test yet. It was the girl who seemed to be the only one who had felt sorry for Sistina when she was being mocked and ridiculed. Mina took a fighting stance, sliding her right leg behind her so that her left leg was in front of her. The trainee didn't take a fighting stance though, and just stood straight up, her arms hanging at her sides. Mina frowned at the trainee.
"Aren't you going to take some sort of stance? If you're too relaxed, then it'll be hard for you respond to enemy attacks."
The trainee shook her head. "It's easier for me to dodge attacks like this. I can make the proper adjustments rather quickly."
Mina shrugged her shoulders. "It's your call, but I'll show you why you need to take a proper stance."
Mina swung her sword horizontally at the trainees arm, and the trainee just bent her upper body forward, entirely avoiding the strike without even moving her feet. Mina looked surprised as her sword missed the trainee, and she returned to her fighting stance, sizing up her opponent, who stood up straight again.
"Well, that wasn't bad. I guess you really can move well in that position."
Mina attacked the trainee full force, aiming a series of swings, strikes, and thrust her sword at her opponent. The trainee managed to avoid it all with ease. She ducked, weaved, and twisted her body to avoid the assaults that the warrior was aiming at her, without even moving from her spot. Mina stopped attacking her, and returned to her stance again.
"So, you're pretty nimble. Well then, let's see how you do when I fight at 10 percent. I know it's a bit early, but you seem to be really good at this, and I want to see what you're really capable of."
Mina's yoki spiked, and her eyes turned golden as a result of the power she was utilizing. She swung her sword at the trainee, with as much strength as Sistina had witnessed before. When her sword reached the trainee, Auria's body shimmered, then turned into a gust of wind that spread out in all directions. Mina's cape fluttered wildly as a cloud of dust and dirt to flew all over the place. Most of the trainees had to cover their eyes in order to avoid getting some of it in their eyes. Mina looked around for her opponent, and discovered that she was still in front of her, only now she was 10 feet away. Mina stared at her, her mouth opened wide.
"How in the blazes did you do that?" Mina was glaring at the trainee, which caused her to clasp her hands together and stare nervously at Mina.
"Um, I just did what you told me to do and dodged your attack. Did I do something wrong?"
Mina just growled at her in response, clearly taking the remark personally.
"Don't let that get to your head. Let's see you dodge this one!"
In an instant, Mina raised her power to 20 percent and lunged at the trainee, crossing the distance between them in an instant. Once again, Mina's sword simply based through air, and a gust of wind blew out from the spot where the trainee was. This time though, it seemed like she had disappeared into thin air. Everyone looked around, trying to locate her.
"Alright, where did that girl go?" Mina growled out, clearly frustrated by what was going on. Sistina looked around too, slowly realizing what must have happened. It was impossible though; no trainee would be able to do something like that. Sistina ignored that thought though and looked up towards the sky, and gasped with astonishment. The others looked upward as well, and most of them stared open-mouthed at the sight above them. The trainee was hovering 15 feet above the ground, in midair. A few of them let their astonishment be heard out loud.
"Wow, she's floating in the air!"
"How is she doing that?"
"I wish I could do that?"
The trainee in the air blushed lightly at the unexpected praise that was being directed her way. As Sistina looked up at her with a mix of awe and jealously, she noticed that her eyes were the same shade of gold that Mina's currently were. It seemed that the trainee had to release at least 10 percent of her power in order to keep herself suspended in the air like that. Mina meanwhile, had stared up at the trainee all this time, although she didn't look angry any longer; she looked rather impressed at her, like all the others were.
"I think we're done here, so get back down here immediately."
The trainee nodded, and gently floated back to the ground, landing directly in front of Mina. Both the trainee and Mina's eyes reverted to their normal silver state when the trainee's feet made contact with the ground. Mina looked the trainee up and down, trying to size her up. She didn't look all that intimidating or strong, but after what she just displayed, it was clear that there was a lot more to this trainee then she was letting on.
"What is your name, girl?" Mina asked calmly.
The girl responded, her nervousness clearly showing as she shifted her feet on the ground slightly while clasping her hands together.
"My name is A- Auria."
Mina smiled at the trainee. "Well then Auria, I think you should report back to Staff and report to training grounds 2. It's clear that your skills require a second kind of test in order to measure your abilities properly."
Auria nodded, and looked even more nervous than before.
"Y- yes, I… I'll report right… right away Mina."
Auria quickly turned and ran towards the clump of buildings in the mountains that Staff was comprised of, leaving the other trainees alone with Mina. Mina swung the training sword over her shoulder and strapped it onto her back alongside her normal Claymore. She then walked over to Sistina, and stood next to her.
"Alright then, it's time to move on to the Strength and Endurance test! Let's go trainees!"
Mina barked out. She helped Sistina to her feet, and after making sure the trainee could stand on her own two legs, walked off towards Staff. The trainees followed her at a distance, with Sistina bringing up the only had to put up with her for one more test, and then the last two exams would be a breeze. At least, that's what all of them thought it would go.
"We've got ourselves a really good crop this year. It's been years since I've seen someone her age move like that. That was a truly magnificent performance!"
The handler was writing down furiously on the piece of paper he had brought down with him, while Cassandra watched the trainees head back towards Staff. The handler finished writing down his notes, and stuck the quill in the ink bottle. He then placed it on top of the clipboard, and stood up.
"Well then Cassandra, I'm going to observe them as they take the next test. You're welcome to come along if you want."
The handler walked off towards Staff, following the trainees at a distance. Cassandra stood there for a few moments before following the handler to the next test. The girl who had hovered in the air was pretty impressive, but Cassandra's intuition was telling her that Sistina was going to be the one to pass in the end. That girl was more than she appeared to be, and Cassandra was quite certain that she would be the one to past the test in the end, even though it looked as though the odds were entirely against her.
The trainees were led to Training Grounds Number 3, which was a barren, rocky plain that was close to a set of buildings set on a cliff face. Mina walked over to a huge pile of training swords that were on the ground.
Mina turned to the trainees, and pointed at the pile of swords. "Alright, I want each of you to come over here and pick up one sword. Then I want you all to stand in a row a few paces back from the pile."
The trainees each picked out a sword from the pile of swords, and stood exactly the way that Mina commanded them to. Mina went over to a large rock that was nearby and sat down on it.
"This next test is very simple. I want you all hold your swords straight out in front of you as long as you can, without using your yoki. When you get too tired to hold it any longer, just drop your sword and wait for the others to finish when you reach your limit."
The trainees held out their sword arms, and held them outwards. It seemed like a simple enough thing to do, but like all the other tests, it was challenging and painful to go through. This would not be easy by any stretch of the imagination.
"I hate having to evaluate this test. You hybrids are more used for staying up for an absurd amount of time. I'm only human though, so I'm always exhausted by the time this is over." The handler grumbled, putting his clipboard on the ground and sitting down right next to it. Cassandra just stood there, ignoring the handler entirely. Her attention was focused solely on the trainees. She knew it would be a long wait, but that was just a trivial matter for someone of her caliber. She was patient enough to see this all to the end, and that was exactly what she intended to do.
Sistina held her sword outwards, ignoring the protests of her tired arm. Seconds became minutes, and minutes became hours, yet it seemed to fly by so quickly for Sistina. Sistina managed to stand there for 5 hours, and by this point, her muscles were extremely sore, but she wasn't going to let up just yet. At this point, two people were still holding up their swords: herself, and Xena.
Xena looked over at her, smiling at Sistina. "I'm honestly surprised you've lasted this long. But I can already tell that you're beginning to reach your limit. Why don't you do us all a favor and drop your sword right now? That way we'll be able to move on to the next test. We all know that you can't outlast me."
Sistina completely ignored her, closing her eyes and breathing in and out gently.
Xena snorted in response. "Fine, be like that! I'll just show you how utterly futile your efforts are!"
The two trainees continued to hold their swords outwards, each one hoping to outlast the other.
"Well, I'm surprised that Sistina has managed to last this long. She did horribly on the physical exercise earlier, so I wander where she's getting all her strength. Well, maybe she just has a high pain threshold." The handler jotted down some more notes, as Cassandra continued to watch the test.
Watching Sistina for as long as she had, she had come to the conclusion that Sistina must have endured something that gave her a high tolerance for pain. This wasn't too surprising since she was a defensive type, but was really amazing was that she was enduring the pain the way a high level warrior would.
"Just what exactly did this girl go through?" Cassandra thought to herself. She figured she would ask the handler as soon as the tests were complete, but for now, she continued to watch the two trainees.
Sistina had already gone beyond her limits, and yet she kept her arm up by sheer determination. Time seemed to stretch on in an eternity, but that didn't matter to her at all. She just concentrated on holding the sword out for as long as she could. Xena was clearly reaching her limit was well: sweat was going down her brow, and her sword arm was shaking slightly.
She glared over at Sistina. "Why haven't you dropped your sword yet? Do you have something to prove? Are you that desperate just to beat me in one area? Just give it up already weakling!"
Sistina didn't listen to her at all though, and continued to hold on to her sword arm. This continued on for another 50 minutes. From the way things were going, neither of the trainees planned on giving up anytime soon.
Suddenly, Xena let go of the sword, and it dropped to the ground with a resounding clang. The noise seemed booming in the dead silence, and all the other trainees just stared in shock at what had occurred. Sistina had managed to outlast Xena, and Xena was the strongest person there.
Mina climbed up to her feet, nodding in approval at Sistina. "You're doing a really good job there. You only need to last 10 more minutes. Do you think you could do that?"
Sistina nodded back, and continued to hold the sword outwards. Xena meanwhile, leaned down and picked up the sword she had dropped. She looked at Sistina, glaring at the other trainee. There was a crazed look in her eye, and she was trembling with anger. Xena roared out, and then she lunged at Sistina, who turned just in time to see Xena swing her sword at her neck, and she jumped back, just barely avoiding the attack.
"YOU BITCH! YOU'VE MADE A FOOL OUT OF ME! I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU PAY!"
Xena proceeded to launch a full out assault on Sistina, performing a series of sword swipes that were meant to pummel her opponent into the ground. Sistina ducked, weaved, and did all she could to avoid her opponent's attacks, keeping an eye on Xena's movements. Xena was absolutely furious now; despite her best efforts she could not land a blow on Sistina.
"YOU'RE NOTHING! YOU'RE ABSOLUTE GARBAGE COMPAIRED TO ME! I'M GOING TO TEACH YOU THAT THE HARD WAY!"
Xena swiped her sword sideways at Sistina, who tried to block it with her blade. Xena's attack was too much for her though and it knocked the sword out of her grip. It flew through the air and landed on the ground 10 feet away from Sistina. Xena grinned at her, and placed her other hand on the hilt of the blade. Up until now she had only been using her sword arm in the assaults.
"It looks like it's the end of the line, Sistina. It's time for you to meet your maker!"
Xena swung the sword at Sistina's neck, who was too tired to avoid it. Suddenly, Mina was there in front of Xena, and she blocked the blow with her own Claymore. Both of the trainees just stared at her in amazement. Sistina couldn't believe that Mina would save her life like that, and Xena couldn't believe that her blow was blocked.
Mina glared at Xena. "You've completely crossed the line, Xena. That blow was meant to kill her, and I won't tolerate that kind of behavior from any of my trainees."
Xena just stared at her incredulously, unable to believe what had come out of Mina's mouth. "This girl is a weakling! You tried to kill her yourself earlier! So why does it matter if I kill her or not?"
Mina glowered at Xena in response to the question. "I want you to understand something, girl. The graduation exam is a very brutal and painful test to go through, and only one person will be made a warrior from it. I judged that Sistina would be too weak to survive it, so I decided to kill her to spare her the horrors that would await her in the graduation exam. It would appear that my first assessment of her was entirely wrong. She's strong in her own right; she just lacks the physical strength that most hybrids have."
Sistina couldn't believe what she was hearing. Mina, who had tried to kill her earlier, was actually siding with her! It was absolutely mind boggling to her, and judging from the look on Xena's face, she felt the same way about the whole situation.
"She's nothing though! She won't pass the final exam at all. That honor will go to me!"
Mina's eyes narrowed at the young girl, and Xena cringed under the gaze of the warrior. "That remains to be seen Xena. I personally think you're in for a rude awakening."
Mina put her sword back on her back, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Put the sword down, Xena. I'm not going to even bother to make you do the second half of the test, because I'm giving you an F right now."
All the other trainees gasped, except for Sistina, who pinched herself on the cheek instead. She felt a brief pain for a moment, but the scene before her was still playing out before her eyes. Sistina smiled softly as she gazed at a horrified Xena, and at the realization that this wasn't a dream or a delusional vision brought on by her exhaustion. It was reality. Xena took a few steps backword from Mina, trembling all over.
"What do you mean an F? I thought the lowest grade was an E!" Mina shook her head.
"In extreme cases where a trainee shows absolutely zero talent in one area, they are given an F, which is the worst grade you could possibly make. In your case though, I'm giving you an F because of misconduct and disorderly behavior. You tried to kill a fellow trainee, and that is utterly inexcusable. Now drop your sword and sit on the ground."
Mina turned and addressed all the other trainees as well.
"As for the rest of you, go over to the pile of swords right now!"
Xena dropped her weapon and plopped down on the ground, staring at Sistina murderously. The other trainees followed Mina's instructions, whispering to each other quietly. Sistina brought up the rear, and stood next to the pile of swords like the others. Mina walked over and stood in front of them.
"The next test is a very simple one. Each of you are going to pick up swords from the ground here, and walk around the training grounds while carrying them. Of course, you aren't allowed to use any of your Yoki while doing this task. Now then, all of you come here and pick out two swords. I'll tell you all when to begin."
All the trainees walked up wearily and picked up two swords, holding them with both of their hands placed underneath them. Mina held her right arm up in the air, so that it was directly above her head. "Alright then, go!"
Mina swung her arm downward, indicating that all of them should begin the test now. They all complied, carrying the swords around the training area.
About 10 minutes later, Sistina dropped the swords she was carrying, and knelt down on the ground, breathing heavily. She had only managed to pick up 4 swords, and was once again the first one to tire out. The only test that had favored her so far was the endurance one, and succeeding at that one had almost gotten her killed. Her entire life as a trainee was like a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from.
Mina walked over to her, and held out her right hand down towards here. "Here, grab onto my hand and get back on your feet."
Sistina did was she was asked to do, and grabbed onto Mina's hand, and the warrior helped her get to her feet. Sistina was grateful, but was completely confused as to why Mina was helping her now.
Sistina hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry I haven't been doing well on the tests. I've been trying my hardest, but my body usually gives out on me."
Mina stared at Sistina calmly, looking at the trainee directly in the eyes. "You know, I would normally find it inexcusable for any trainee to perform at the level that you showed today, but you're not the usual trainee. By all rights you should have gotten at least a B on the agility test. I apologize for judging you to be weak and trying to kill you earlier. It's just that I don't like seeing people suffering. Sometimes it's less painful to die then it is to live."
As strange as it was, Sistina completely understood where Mina was coming from when she said this. The events in her life that led up to her becoming a hybrid were the most traumatic, horrifying experiences of her life. On top of that, the process of turning into a hybrid itself was beyond painful; there were no words that could accurately describe what her body and mind went through. So she did understand Mina's point, although at the same time, she believed trying to kill someone just because they would suffer later on was the wrong thing to do, especially if there was a chance that the person could live.
Sistina looked at Mina wearily. She still didn't know what to think of her entirely. "Well, there's nothing really to apologize for Mina. Truth be told, you aren't the first person who has tried to kill me, and I've already almost died on multiple opinions. It's just another day for me, really."
Sistina sighed and looked down at the ground. Seeing Sistina in this state made Mina feel a pain of guilt. She was worried that Sistina was going to get herself killed in the current state she was in.
"Hey, don't be so down on yourself. You're just not as physically strong as the others. You're quick on your feet and you can endure quite a bit of punishment. If you do your best I'm sure you'll do well on the upcoming tests."
Sistina looked up at Mina, smiling softly at her. "You were worried about me. And here I thought you simply stepped in to save me just because Xena was breaking the rules."
At that moment, Mina realized that Sistina had been testing her to find out what she really thought about her. Mina crossed her arms and looked at Sistina sternly. "Of course I wasn't worried about you! I'm often called upon to guide the trainees through the exams, and it would look bad if they killed each other, and that's it!"
Despite how serious Mina sounded, Sistina started to giggle, which caused Mina to narrow her eyes at the young trainees. "What's so funny? Stop that at once!"
Sistina managed to stifle her giggling, and smiled lightheartedly at Mina. "I'm sorry, but you kind of reminded me a bit of my mother. She's a bit stern at times, but she's a really good person at heart."
Mina didn't know how to react like that. She realized that she couldn't act angry towards the trainee anymore, so she decided to change the subject.
"I want you to confirm something I've been wandering for some time now, but are you from Alphonse?"
Sistina's eyes widened at the question. "Yeah, I came from the town of Dabi. But how did you know I was from there?"
Mina hanged her arms down at her sides, and looked into Sistina's eyes.
"Most of the trainees we get from there are physically weak since they don't go outside much. The harsh weather makes it next to impossible for people to get far from their village, so naturally trainees from there don't get much opportunity to build up their muscles."
Mina looked up to see how the trainees were doing, and just barely noticed the last trainee drop the swords she was carrying. She had managed to pick up 13. Mina turned back to Sistina.
"Well, I think it's time for me to officially say goodbye to all of you, so why don't you come over and get in line with all the other trainees?"
Mina then leaned forward and whispered in Sistina's ear. "By the way, watch out for that yoma in the graduation exam. His finger projectiles are troublesome to deal with if you didn't know about it before hand."
Mina walked towards the other trainees, and Sistina followed close behind, frowning at what Mina just said.
"We have to kill a yoma in the final exam? This doesn't seem like it'll end well."
Sistina lined up with all the other trainees. Xena sent a murderous glare her way briefly, but quickly turned her attention to Mina once she stood in front of all the trainees.
"Well, this is where I part with you sorry lot. You all have three more tests awaiting you, which will consist of two more evaluations of your skill, and the graduation exam. All the tests that are remaining are much tougher and harsher than what I put you through today. I will lead you to training grounds number 1, and then I'll be on my way. Now then, let's get a move on!"
Mina lead the way back to Staff, and the trainees followed, worried about what the future had in store for them.
And there you have it, the second chapter of my story. Reviews, comments, and constructive criticism would be very much appreciated. I'll try to at least update this story monthly from now on, weekly if possible.